<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I am applying for health insurance (having lost my job and its coverage more than a year ago) and the well-respected company I have applied to wants to add a 25% surcharge for my son and myself because we are celiacs. It seems to me from the interview I had with the underwriter that this is based on my honest answer that I have, in the past three years, had occasional gluten reactions. Since I am one of those celiacs who reacts very quickly to even small amounts of the forbidden grains, you can imagine that (1) it does happen sometimes no matter how hard I try to stay gluten free and (2) I am trained, Pavlov's dog-like, to stay on the diet as faithfully as possible. I wonder if any of the medical professionals who monitor this list can speak to the issues of increased health risks as seen from the view of an insurance underwriter. Does someone following the diet as strictly as possible warrant a 25% increase in insurance premium? Are the risks that great? -- Linda Blanchard http://www.nowheat.com celiac cooking, food allergies, science fiction and more